Tatting Tip: Avoiding the Folded Join

Many patterns double back on themselves so that you need to connect the very end to the very beginning. To make this final join, you can use a folded join, or you can use this trick to avoid the folded join.

At this point your motif is almost done, and you need to join the last ring (in progress) to the first ring:Line up the two rings so that the the picot you want to join to is right next to the ring where you want to join it:

Now turn it around and hold it so that the join is in a comfortable tatting position, and join normally:Finish tatting the ring and close:

Now your first and last rings are joined together! No folded join required!

What are your questions?Email them to me or leave them in the comments and I’ll answer them as well as I can.

Fox, don’t turn it over, just rotate it around (like rotating on the face of a clock or a turntable) so that the ring you are working on is essentially upside down. Then line up the picot next to it and join as normal.

First of all, thank you for the instructions for the non-folded join! I’m hoping it’ll make finishing my projects easier!

Next, Could you please recommend what your technique is to stiffen your finished tatted pieces? I have tried a number of things, from 50/50 glue and water, to liquid starch, to sugar-water solution, to a stiffener called Aileen’s. Nothing has really worked for me. What could you recommend?

I really really wish you would make video #15 showing the simplicity of this technique. Too many people are not able to grasp how simple it is and can not follow it because they add steps. Please consider it, it would probably be a minute video, from when you stop tatting, turn it and join, and then resume tatting!